Private Fred Coupe

Private Fred Coupe The son of Thomas and Linda Coupe of Rawtenstall, Lancashire; husband of Hilda Coupe, of Rawtenstall.

Fred was a member of Defence Platoon, 4th Parachute Brigade Headquarters.

Fred Coupe enlisted into The Manchester Regiment in January 1940 and was serving with the 8th Battalion in Malta in 1942 and 1943.

He volunteered for Airborne Forces and it is thought that he did Parachute Course K19 at Kabrit in Egypt in January 1943.

He was a member of the Defence Platoon, 4th Parachute Brigade Headquarters on Operation ‘Slapstick’, which was the naval landing by the 1st Airborne Division at the Italian port of Taranto in September 1943.

Fred was killed in action on the road south of Castellaneta on the 11 September 1943. He was 25 years old when he was killed.

He now lies at rest in Bari War Cemetery, II. A. 23.

NOTE: From available Records it appears that the men of the Defence Platoon, 4th Parachute Brigade Headquarters were not shown as members of The Parachute Regiment until late 1944. Therefore Pte. Coupe and his five comrades killed on the 11/09/1943 are only shown as attachments on the CWGC web-site.